Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall Page A

way, like in a pretty obviously romantic way. There are tons of lists, each one more damning than the last. One of them is in Elvish, and something tells me that’s probably the worst of them all.
    I stop for a second and take in what I’m looking at.
    Not only is Gideon gay, but he’s in love with my boyfriend. Or at least in some pretty deep like with my boyfriend. It’s a lot to take in, and who knows when someone might walk into this room. I snap a picture of each list with my phone, because I want to understand better what’s going on. And because I’m just plain nosy. I really can’t help it.
    As I slide the binder back under the couch, the front door opens and closes and footsteps trail down the hall before they pause at the door.
    â€œHi,” a male voice says. A male voice attached to a complete hottie who is neither Gideon nor Kyle.
    Ezra
    â€œHey yourself,” she says.
    â€œRuby, right?” I ask. She was a freshman when I was a senior. Even back then everyone knew who Ruby Vasquez was.
    â€œYeah,” she says, nodding coolly and turning to look at me. “Ezra, right?”
    â€œYeah. I wasn’t sure you’d remember.”
    â€œHell yeah, I remember,” she says, breaking out into a grin. “You’re basically a legend at Madison High. Getting out of this stupid town and heading to L.A. to become a surfer is still one of the coolest things anyone from here has ever done.”
    I grin. I can’t help myself. That was pretty cool of me. Until my bar mitzvah money ran out. And then my graduation money. And then I realized that working at Starbucks thirty hours a week wasn’t going to cut it.
    But she doesn’t need to know about that stuff.
    â€œI heard you were doing really well, too. Like winning some kind of tournament.”
    I have no idea who would have started such a rumor, but I thank them in my head.
    â€œOh totally. I’m just home for Passover.”
    â€œIsn’t that almost over? Are you leaving soon?”
    â€œUm. Not sure.” I did not expect this chick to know when Passover was, so instead I go for a quick change of subject. I survey the room, trying to think of something else to talk about.
    â€œI can only imagine how desperate you are to get back to California,” she continues.
    â€œTotally. So what are you doing here?” I ask, deciding to go with the obvious.
    â€œWell, we were supposed to be playing Grand Theft Auto, but Kyle and Gideon went over to his house to get the PS4 and have abandoned me here.”
    â€œDo you want something to drink?” I ask, gesturing toward the kitchen.
    â€œNah, I’m good,” she says. “What’s California like? Is it everything you wanted it to be?”
    â€œUm, it was good. I had a lot of fun. Met a lot of people.” I realize too late that I’m talking in the past tense, but if Ruby notices, she doesn’t say anything.
    â€œWell, it looks like it suits you,” she says, giving me an appraising look just as Kyle and Gideon come in through the back door.
    â€œI’m so sorry about making you wait, Ruby,” Gideon says. “And about him.” He points in my direction.
    â€œWhat about me?” I ask. “I was just being cordial to your guest.”
    â€œIt’s really no big deal,” she says. Kyle sits down on the sofa next to her and puts his arm around her shoulders.
    â€œSorry that took so long,” he says to her. Then he turns to me like he just noticed I was here. “How’s it going, Ezra? Gideon told me you were back, but I haven’t seen you around much.”
    â€œYeah, I’ve been hiding in my cave,” I say seriously.
    â€œWell, it’s good to see you,” he says.
    I have to wonder if he could sense there was a little vibe going on between Ruby and me while we were waiting for them. Personally, I can’t help but notice there’s something going on